Special Research Programs

Most research activities on Atlantic tuna and tuna-like species are carried out by scientists from national research institutes or universities of Contracting Parties. Special Research Programs are used by ICCAT as a mechanism to help focus, coordinate and complement those national research activities. The programs usually center on improving biological knowledge and fishery data for a particular species, and usually last a few years. In some cases they are funded by the Commission as part of the regular budget and in some cases they are funded by contributions from individual Contracting Parties and other agencies. The following is a list of ICCAT Research Projects conducted to-date.

The GBYP six years programme started in 2010. Funded by several ICCAT CPCs: European Union (80%), Algeria, Canada, China, Croatia, Japan, Korea, Libya, Morocco, Norway, Tunisia, Turkey, United States of America and Chinese Taipei. It is also supported by funds or donation in kind by various public and private entities.

A coordinator is in charge of implementing the Program's activities.The Steering Committee is composed by the SCRS Chair, the Bluefin tuna Rapporteurs, an external scientific expert and the ICCAT Executive Secretary. It is in charge of overseeing the Program.

The AOTTP is a five year programme funded by the European Union (DCI-FOOD/2015/361-161), ICCAT CPCs and Contributors. The project officially began on 29 June 2015

Objectives

The overall objective of the AOTTP Programme is to contribute to food security and economic growth of the Atlantic coastal states by ensuring sustainable management of tropical tuna resources in the Atlantic Ocean. Specifically it will provide evidence-based scientific advice to developing Atlantic coastal states, and other ICCAT Contracting Parties, for them to adopt appropriate Conservation and Management Measures within the Framework of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
These objectives will be realized by improving the estimation – derived from tag-recapture data - of key parameters for stock assessment (i.e. growth, natural mortality, migrations and stock-structure).

Organization

A Coordinator is responsible for implementing AOTTP Programme activities.

Enhanced Program for Billfish Research(EPBR)

Duration

1987-present with funding from the Commission and other donors

Objectives

To obtain more complete detailed catch and effort statistics for billfishes, to carry out an expanded tagging program, and to carry out studies on age and growth.

The SRDCP is contained within the 2015-2020 SCRS Strategic Plan. At this stage, the workplan of the project is still being elaborated and so exact dates have not yet been finalized.

Objectives

Although efforts are being made in recent years to improve shark data collection and research, the current knowledge on many fisheries and basic biology is still limited. These gaps in knowledge are responsible for much of the uncertainty in stock assessments, and have caused constraints to the provision of scientific advice. Therefore, the present proposal for a Shark Research and Data Collection Program (SRDCP) represents a further step to align with ICCAT Res. 11-17 on Best Available Science, to fill knowledge gaps on fisheries and biology issues by improving data collection, cooperation and capacity building. In order to achieve these goals, the SRDCP aims to provide guidance to SCRS researchers, by prioritizing those issues related to data collection and research lines on species biology/ecology, fisheries and mitigation measures. Finally, by promoting coordination between SCRS researchers, the SRDCP aims to improve the quality and reduce the uncertainty of the scientific advice on sharks provided to the Commission, and to better assess the impact of management measures on these species.

Organization

The implementation of the SRDCP falls within the general framework of the SCRS strategic plan which will provide the overall framework for the required coordination and for the development of the programme. The ICCAT Sharks Species Group recommends that a small group of SCRS scientists should be in charge of elaborating the biological sampling design (which has been initiated in 2014). With regards to collaboration with other organisations, it is important for ICCAT to continue to interact with other RFMOs that conduct scientific studies and provide management for shark species of interest in this research plan (e.g., tRFMOs, GFCM, NAFO and ICES).

1992-1997 through informal coordination of national research activities.
1997-present as part of Commission's budget.

Objectives

To improve general biological information and statistical fisheries data on bluefin tuna.
Currently, the Commission is considering the possibility of a larger research program which would incorporate the BYP. The increased level of funding would be necessary to answer questions related to BFT mixing in the Atlantic.